special education paraprofessional

special education teacher

school counselor

clinical support staff

school nurse

School of Expressive Arts and Learning

Indeed review 

The students are the best part of the job, they will challenge you, and I am much more confident in my abilities in a school environment to de escalate and make great connections with students who are struggling due to my experience working at SEAL. 

The biggest drawback is having to deal with higher ups who run the school like a business without much consideration into how their decisions will heavily impact the students. I have often tried to make suggestions that I believe would improve the classroom environment and aid in things like the students sensory needs, but am constantly being shut down because they clearly prioritize the buildings aesthetics over giving students a sensory item that might be a little messy or make a mark on the walls/carpet. 
It gets disheartening to put so much effort into coming up with solutions to students behavioral issues and getting turned down, while also receiving no help or alternative solutions to aid the students. 
We have meetings to address students behavior and are told to implement new learning strategies/behavioral techniques, but are then left without the means or staff to do so. 

Staff is moved from room to room after making connections with students who need reliable and consistent staff presence, and those students are then left without their original  staff and continue to struggle because they will then have to basically work with staff who know very little on how to handle their needs. 

Nepotism also plays a large part in how you will be treated as staff. As someone who was hired who didn’t previously know anyone there, I feel that while I’ve spent countless hours outside of work coming up with ways to improve the class environment and making strides in helping challenging students with their behavior, I feel that I am only interacted with by my superiors when they are turning down an idea or reprimanding me for something they feel I did wrong. (Ex. Walking with an elementary student in the hall who was jumping around and wasn’t listening to my redirections) 

When bringing any major concerns for students well being to the attention of superiors, I’ve consistently been met with questions regarding if I’ve done proper paperwork or made enough contact to their guardians, but have never received any communication that indicated any type of concern for the well being of the student or ways to help them. Usually I am left to work with the classroom staff and (some) coordinators to try and see what is the best option, while being offered no help by the people who’s job it is to step in when serious situations with students occur. The only feedback I’ve gotten in those situations are things they think myself or other staff have done incorrectly while trying to help, while also not being given any type of guidance. 

When bringing anything to the attention of the higher ups that concerned my own experience and issues at SEAL I was usually listened to, but I don’t think action has ever been taken to address major issues I’ve had there. 

I have seen/heard about multiple staff being injured by students, some injuries severe enough to have to be checked by medical professionals at a hospital before returning to work, but have never seen action taken by SEAL to prevent those incidences from happening again. Some students who have injured staff have had to stay home and are supposed to be evaluated before they can return, but more often than not are back at school the same week with the same staff they injured days prior. The injured staff is not given the option to move to another room. 

As a para or teacher you will become CPI certified in order to perform physical holds on students who are being unsafe. I have had various minor injuries from students (bruises, bites) but find it is much easier to de escalate a student by communicating with them and meeting them at their level, instead of resorting to a physical restraint, which I find isn’t a common occurrence with a lot of staff at SEAL. Of course there are many staff who do their best to support the students, and do everything they can to avoid a restraint, but a lot of the good staff leave once they have had enough of seeing students in crisis being handled by other staff. You will often see staff become impatient when a student in crisis isn’t immediately following instructions, so the staff will almost immediately put the child into a transport hold and in some cases literally carry or drag the student to where they want them to be. Physical restraints and holds are supposed to be used as a last resort when students are at risk of harming themselves or others, but it is not rare to see them being used when impatient and burnt out staff give up on trying to communicate or are on a power trip. 

There are clubs and activities that do benefit the students, but are sometimes disorganized and poorly run, so the classroom staff is left to try and keep the students productive and happy because the group leader is having a side conversation or is only focusing on one kid. 
Pet club is a good way for the students to learn responsibility, there is a sports team as well that they enjoy, and the music therapist puts on wonderful variety shows for the students to participate in and perform for their classmates and parents.

During my interview I was told that each student has a counselor that they meet with once a week and can meet with them as needed if they are in crisis. It was great to hear as another way to support students who have a lot of emotional support needs, but in practice it causes frustration for students who wish to speak to someone they trust and are close with, and many cases it is not the counselor they meet with for 30 minutes a week and is usually a support staff in their or another room. We are supposed to encourage the student to express themselves but I have been told not to take a student to an office ( a side meeting room for students in crisis) who have asked to go with me, and instead have to tell them they can only take a break in an office if it is with their counselor. That is almost always met with frustration by the student and I have even heard the student say they’ll just stay in the room because they hate their counselor. I don’t understand why the importance of being a preferred staff for a student is pushed so heavily during the training period but is hardly implemented in practice. If a student is able and wanting to express their feelings with any school staff it should be considered a huge win, but it only hurts the student when their only option is their assigned counselor who they may not have a connection or established trust with. 

The staff are overall pretty chill and nice, but there is a lot of gossiping and it is very difficult to trust people, so it would be smart to be careful with who you talk to because many staff members are related to supervisors, etc. There are a lot of cliques and people who will immediately tell coworkers anything you tell them in confidence.
It’s not too difficult to find people there who are awesome and they really make your experience at SEAL more fun, and will support you when working with students. Unfortunately the turnover is very high and they are usually the first to go when they get a better picture of how things are run there. 

I do not regret my time at SEAL because of the valuable experience I’ve gained while being there, but I do think it is important to consider what you are and are not willing to put up with before choosing to work at SEAL.


I have mixed feelings about working here.  Often times there are not enough staff and teachers are left without a para.  This is challenging because students  have different needs and abilities and it is crucial to have a para to support student needs.  Some paras are amazing and others do the bare minimum and somehow remain employed.  

Textbooks are very outdated and the online curriculum (SAVVAS) was not designed for special education students and it much too difficult. Students also dislike its format and say it is “boring” yet we are pushed to use it. 

High school teachers may be teaching 15-20 different subjects each semester which requires a LOT of prep time. 
One prep period is not enough time to do lesson planning, grading, goal tracking etc.  If students refuse to go to ET groups, or there is a crisis, you lose your prep period. 

The teacher’s supervisor is amazing. She is very  and helpful and easily approachable.  I always feel supported by her and it is obvious that she wants the best for her staff. 

School lunch is free to staff. 

Many staff are truly dedicated and have the students best interests in mind. 

Some supervisors  seem to hold grudges against other staff and do not provide the support needed, or are quick to point out faults, and not offer support. 

There is one staff not assigned to a classroom who floats around the school providing support.  She is very helpful but tends to stay busy with the elementary students.  If there were more floating staff it would alleviate stress in the building and help to cover for absences. 

All staff are trained in CPI. There is a huge push to use verbal de-escalation to avoid going hands on, which is nice.  In the event of a true crisis, many people respond and support the student in crisis. 

The schedule is very nice, with week long breaks for Thanksgiving and Spring in addition to a shortened summer schedule and about 3 weeks off. 

Overall this is a decent place to work. It would be better if they had more paraprofessionals to support the classrooms and the teachers.  If teachers had more prep time it would reduce a lot of the stress of the job.  


Overall, there are so many good things to say about SEAL. If you are willing to embrace the workplace cultural sense of humor and camaraderie, along with simply being competent at your job, you’ll feel the familial bond with other staff pretty quickly. The students are so silly and love to have a good time. It’s a comedy everyday in Lombard! 

On the downside, staff are not paid very well, especially for the amount of crisis response that is involved on top of daily tasks. The physically aggressive behaviors seem to be getting worse, more intense, and longer in duration despite not having enough staff to support these behaviors. There is also a lack of consistency in disciplinary action, creating continued inadequate work performance due to lack of leadership response. This often leads to escalated behaviors, lack of adequate supervision for students, or burnout from other employees picking up the slack.

I have worked for SEAL for 13 years now and could not imagine working anywhere else. Not every day is easy, but what the team at SEAL provides to our students makes every day rewarding! SEAL strives to provide a fun, nurturing, safe environment for students and staff. The level of support that administration and management shows to staff of all levels is the reason I have been here this long. I have learned so much from them which has helped me to become a better employee, to build a better support system for our students and our staff and to strengthen the programming that we provide.  The most amazing thing about SEAL is when you have a shy student or one with anxiety who feels so comfortable in their surroundings that they are able to join a club like performing arts and do something out of their comfort zone such as sing a solo at a variety show or be the lead in the play. These students are able to do this with the support of their amazing staff in this incredible program.  It makes me very proud to be a part of this team!

The branch school that I worked for had a quite a few people without education degrees and one without a proper education running the place. The management cared more about the appearance of their building more than the education that was being given in the classrooms. As far as job advancement there is none unless you snitch on your coworkers. I had one of the owners of the school lie to me and say they couldn’t make up a promotion for me even though I was teaching an elementary classroom and a music classroom at the same time because the school was always short staffed. Instead the promotion they couldn’t just make up went to a co worker that never showed up on time and threaten quite more than once. The only good part of this job in the 5.5 years I worked there was the interactions with the students. That being said a lot of students were done wrong by the management that was never in the classrooms to get to know the kids they were making “ informed” decisions on. 

When I first interviewed at this school, alot of red flags stood out, although I chose to ignore them & give benefit of doubt & chalking it up to being a rough day... I was with this company for a good amount of time, & I think their Lombard location is great, while a couple of the others need work. I really like the core philosophy & the owners, but many of the supervisors didn't communicate or demanded opposite objectives. I'm all for working to meet challenging objectives, but giving staff conflicting instructions really frustrates them & makes it a toxic work environment (especially, when screamed at or demeaned). All-in-all, if you like working with kids & making a difference, these kids need someone like you! If you're looking for a paycheck, there are other lines of work better suited to you (higher paying ones, too).

Day 8-3:30
Learned- how to deal with an mnage a pleothora of behaviors and how to work with a variety of ages, abilitites and disbailties. 
Managment- can be great, they have for the most part ben hired from with in, so they hav a good knowledge of the job and  the requirments and expectations related to the job ares. 
Culture- fun, staff try to keep things light, as the students and issues can be intense at times. 
Hardest part- dealing with a struggling student, or having to respond to a child in crisis. 
Most enjoyable part- no day is ever the same, and the kids always do something goofy or memorable. 

Every workplace has their challenges but not all has their rewards.  SEAL puts children first and gives those with special needs the opportunity to thrive in an environment in which they would not have otherwise in a mainstream public school.    In the 10 years I have worked here, I've seen many employees push through barriers and help student rise to their full potential.  It's hard work, but with passion and a strong team helping guiding you,  you too can make a difference.  

The school does a decent job managing behaviors; however, it has issues.  Multiple times they had a substitute without a teaching licence running a class for over a year.  The texts are outdated, the resources are slim to none and the supervisors are not qualified.  Since this is for-profit the owners only care about the bottom line.  Make sure to ask what the salary cap is as you are lucky to get a 1.5% raise every year.  Turn around is quick and you will always be understaffed.  They keep opening new schools even though they cannot staff the schools they have.

SEAL understands the needs of students and employees as we help this vulnerable, often misunderstood and challenging population. The SEAL model works with the more complex every changing world we live in to help children and teens adapt and learn coping mechanism to be successful not only in school but life. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Special education paraprofessional 10 salaries reported	$36,300 per year
Special education teacher 13 salaries reported	$65,000 per year
School counselor 3 salaries reported	$49,500 per year
Clinical support staff 3 salaries reported	$32,333 per year
School nurse 3 salaries reported	$54,000 per year

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